Baseball Headline

Duke
snapped a 2-2 tie with a pair of runs in the eighth inning to defeat No. 13 Florida,
4-3, in front of an Opening Night record crowd of 5,771 fans at McKethan
Stadium on Friday in the 2013 debut for both squads. Blue Devil junior Mike
Rosenfeld (3-for-5), who was a home run shy of hitting for the cycle, delivered
an RBI triple off Gator sophomore Corey Stump (Lakeland, Fla.) (0-1)
that put the visitors ahead and sophomore Andrew Istler retired all four
batters he faced to save the victory for junior Robert Huber (1-0). Tonight
marked UF’s first season-opening setback since 2007.

“First
of all, I give Duke a lot of credit,” head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “I
thought their starting pitcher [Trent Swart] did a really nice job – he kept us
off-balance and made some big pitches. I thought Jonathon [Crawford] threw the
ball well. [Jordan] Betts just ran into one pitch [on a two-run homer in the
fourth inning], got the barrel out and did a really nice job. As far as both of
those innings, both the fourth and the eighth, [each] started with lead-off
walks and that’s kind of been a point of emphasis in the early part of the
spring, but you have to give Duke all of the credit. I thought they played a
really, really good game. There is always something to pull away from a game,
whether you win or lose.”

Gator
redshirt freshman Cory Reid (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) opened the scoring
with a two-out RBI single down the right-field line in the second inning. After
Duke sophomore left-hander Trent Swart retired the first five Florida batters
of the contest, sophomore Justin Shafer (Lake Wales, Fla.) (2-for-4)
blooped a double into right center field and moved to third base on a wild
pitch. Following a four-pitch walk to sophomore Josh Tobias (Greensboro,
N.C.) that left runners on the corners, Reid sliced Swart’s first offering into
right field to bring across Shafer.

The
Blue Devils put a pair of runners aboard in the third but were kept at bay by junior
Jonathon Crawford (Okeechobee, Fla.). After junior Mark Lumpa reached on
a one-out fielding error by freshman shortstop Richie Martin (Brandon,
Fla.) and Istler was hit by a pitch, Crawford induced a ground ball by senior
Jeff Kremer that forced Istler at second base and then struck out Rosenfeld to
complete the inning with the 1-0 score intact.

Junior
Jordan Betts connected on a two-run homer in the fourth to give the visitors a
2-1 advantage. Redshirt sophomore Chris Marconcini had drawn a leadoff walk on
a full count and Betts followed with a round-tripper to left center field.
Crawford set down the next two batters before junior Anthony D’Alessandro
tripled into the right corner. Junior Daniel Gibson (Lutz, Fla.) took
over on the mound for Crawford (3.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K) and had Lumpa
ground out to first base.

Istler
began the fifth with a free pass and moved into scoring position on a grounder
by Kremer. Gibson had Rosenfeld fly out to left field and caught Marconcini
looking on strikes to complete the stanza. Sophomore Ryan Harris
(Jupiter, Fla.) replaced Gibson (1.1 IP) prior to sixth and registered the
first two outs before yielding a base-hit into left field by junior Angelo La
Bruna. However, Harris picked the runner off first base to end the inning.

UF
senior Vickash Ramjit (Miami, Fla.) tied the game at 2-2 in the sixth
with a sacrifice fly. Freshman Harrison Bader (Bronxville, N.Y.)
(1-for-4, 2 runs) opened the frame with a single into center field, ending a
stretch of 10-consecutive hitters set down by Swart. Sophomore Casey Turgeon
(Palm Harbor, Fla.) executed a hit-and-run with a single through the right side
of the infield to move Bader to third base and Ramjit lofted a fly ball into
center field that brought across Bader. Turgeon was thrown out attempting to
steal second base to complete the inning.

After
Harris worked a 1-2-3 seventh, Duke’s announced starter for Sunday, Huber,
replaced Swart (6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 4 K, 1 BB). Shafer roped a one-out double off
the wall in right field but was thrown out trying to stretch his hit into a
triple on a perfect relay from Kremer to junior second baseman David Perkins to
Betts covering third. Tobias was then robbed of a single on a diving stop and
throw by La Bruna.

Stump
relieved Harris (2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 K) to start the eighth and permitted a leadoff
walk to Kremer. Moments later, Rosenfeld moved the Blue Devils back in front
with an RBI triple to deep center field. Stump notched his first career
strikeout by catching Marconcini looking and junior Keenan Kish
(Worcester, Pa.) was summoned from the bullpen. A fielding error by Turgeon on
a grounder by Betts enabled Rosenfeld to score for a 4-2 lead for the visitors.
Sophomore Andy Perez was hit for two runners aboard and La Bruna flew out to
right for the second out before Kish struck out D’Alessandro.

“We
competed today,” Harris said. “We did the best we could and just came up short.
But, our team is ready to come back and bounce back tomorrow, to try to even
the series and get back at it. It’s just one game; we will move on and build
from it.”

The
Gators pulled within 4-3 in the home part of the inning. Senior Cody Dent
(Boynton Beach, Fla.) had a one-out single but was erased at second base on a
fielder’s choice by Bader. Martin collected his first collegiate hit with two
down for runners on the corners and a failed pickoff attempt allowed Bader to
come home on a fielding error by Perez and trim UF’s deficit to 4-3. A walk to
Turgeon prompted a pitching change, as Istler moved into from left field to
mound for Huber (1.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R) and had Ramjit fly out to right field to
preserve the Blue Devils’ lead.

Kish
recorded the first two outs of the ninth before surrendering consecutive
singles to Kremer and Rosenfield. Freshman Danny Young (Boca Raton,
Fla.) kept the Blue Devils off the board further with a strikeout of sophomore Grant
McCabe. Istler put the Gators down in order to help head coach Chris Pollard
claim his debut as Duke’s skipper. Each team totaled seven hits.

In
a meeting of right-handers tomorrow at 4 p.m., freshman Tucker Simpson
(Oxford, Ala.) will make his collegiate debut for the hosts against Duke junior
Drew Van Orden. The game will be carried live on GatorVision and can be heard
on the Gator IMG Sports Network with JeffCardozo and Steve Russell.

Game
Notes

·The
Gators started a trio of freshmen on Opening Night: Harrison Bader (left field),
Richie Martin (shortstop) and Cory Reid (right field) and all three registered
their first collegiate hits.

·The
crowd of 5,771 spectators marked the 31st time since McKethan Stadium opened in
1988 that the Gators drew in excess of 5,000 fans.

·The
previous top Opening Night crowd at McKethan Stadium was 5,356 spectators for
the Gators’ 7-3 victory over Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 17, 2012.

·O’Sullivan
began his sixth season at the helm of Florida baseball tonight against Duke.

·LF
Harrison Bader was the first Gator freshman to bat leadoff on Opening Day since
2003 (Stephen Barton – designated hitter).

·Richie
Martin became the first freshman starting shortstop for Florida since Nolan
Fontana (2010) began a three-year run at the position.

·Redshirt
freshman Cory Reid started in right field for the Gators as the first rookie
outfielder in game one since Josh Adams played in center field in 2008.

·A
freshman has now been in the starting lineup on Opening Night during all six
years of Kevin O’Sullivan’s tenure.

·The
4-3 loss for Florida was its first loss in a season/home opener since 2007, when
the Gators dropped a 5-3 decision to VMI.

·The
loss also snapped a 12-game winning streak Florida had against ACC opponents. Before
tonight, UF’s last setback to an ACC foe came in Tallahassee to Florida State
on April 12, 2011 (3-1).

·The
Blue Devils have now taken three of the four all-time meetings against the
Gators.

·Justin
Shafer scored the first Gator run of the 2013 season after Cory Reid knocked
him in with a two-out single in the second inning. The hit was also Reid’s
first of his career.

·Shafer’s
hit in the second inning also extended his current hitting streak to seven
games dating back to last season.

·Final
line for starting pitcher Jonathan Crawford was 3.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB and
4 K’s. The total of four strikeouts was his most in one outing since striking
out five batters against NC State in last year’s NCAA Gainesville Super Regional
on June 10, 2012.

·Ryan
Harris was able to pick off a Duke runner to end the top of the sixth inning
Friday night. The Gators only had one pickoff all of last season.

·Bader’s
first career hit came on a single in the bottom of the sixth inning. It also
broke a string of 10-consecutive batters retired by Duke starting pitcher Trent
Swart.

·In
the bottom of the sixth inning, Vickash Ramjit sent a sacrifice fly into center
field, scoring Bader to tie the game at 2-2. Ramjit’s at-bat lasted eight
pitches.

·Corey
Stump’s strikeout in the top of the eighth inning was his first strikeout of
his career.

·In
the bottom of the eighth inning, freshman Richie Martin dropped a single down
the right field line for his first collegiate hit.